Thoughts and musings from my head

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Today was a beautiful day. Did I go out and enjoy it? Nope. Why is that? I even commented about how it was a beautiful day and that we should go out and do something.

So why did nothing happen? Because I got too busy doing work. Should that have happened? Ahh, the real question, the one about priorities.

What should take more priority?

I work as an independent contractor in the mornings and with my own company in the afternoons. So should I get out and spend more time outside while it’s beautiful and when it gets darker and cooler go back inside and do work? I need more sunshine and exercise (or so the doctor tells me) – should getting more sunshine and exercise take more priority over getting work done?

So over the last couple of years I’ve been really trying to learn more about what the Sabbath is really about. I grew up Adventist and going to church on Sabbath (Saturday) was normal. After I got married I found that my wife’s family (also Adventist) felt that some things were okay for Sabbath and other things were not – things that were different than what I had grown up being told were okay or not okay.

What I’ve really been trying to find out is how much of what I do (or don’t do) is because of how I was raised / tradition and how much is really what God says is acceptable / permissible / encouraged.

My wife and I got to listen to a great series of sermons by Jonathan Henderson about the Sabbath and it’s really changed our perspective a bit, about how the Sabbath is really about rest, like a weekly holiday. He also talks about how it’s not a day of worship, that we shouldn’t confine worship to one day but worship every day; that’s one of those things I had never really thought about but really makes sense. It’s not that we can’t or shouldn’t worship on that day, it’s that God never asked us to specifically worship on the Sabbath. Instead the call to worship comes from our fellow men (and women), calling us to worship and praise God. He also talks about how the day is a day of holy convocation, that we get together on that day to encourage each other, to lift each other up. If you get the chance to listen to the series I highly recommend it.

So as you go about your Sabbath, ask yourself – is what I am doing today because of how God intended the Sabbath to be or just because of tradition. If you can’t answer that then maybe it’s time to dig into the Word and see what God really said.

How much time do we spend with our spouse where we really spend time with them? Not just going home and watching TV with them, not just watching a movie, actually spending time with them?

Just spending time in the same room as someone isn’t building or improving the relationship – there’s no interaction there. You really need to take time out and do stuff together. My wife and I went to dinner last night and then drove around El Paso. We turned off the cell phones, turned off the computers and the iPads, and just hung out with each other. Best date night we’ve had in a long time!

Sometimes we get so caught up in what we are doing and forget to really spend time with each other. It can happen to anyone.